


Sydney Clarke Makes a Friend

by OrionCohen



Category: Vengeful - Fandom, Vicious - Fandom, Villains Series - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:26:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24583771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionCohen/pseuds/OrionCohen
Summary: Sydney goes to a party where she meets Sean, an EO looking to make a bargain.
Relationships: Sydney Clarke & Mitchell "Mitch" Turner & Victor Vale, Sydney Clarke & Serena Clarke, Sydney Clarke & Victor Vale
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Contains spoilers for Vicious and Vengeful.  
> There will be more chapters.

Sydney poured herself a few shots of booze and downed it before she lost her nerve. She nearly gagged, she’d never drunk alcohol before and it tasted like piss, but she didn’t need anything fancy, just something to take the edge off. There was a boy, a cute boy, at the party who seemed to be following her, she needed to work up the nerve to talk to him. She poured another couple shots of booze and downed them before tossing her red plastic cup in the trash.  
Usually someone following her would make her nervous. Usually she’d be worried it was someone who knew about Victor’s crimes (which were of course, by association, also her crimes). But not tonight. Tonight she was a normal girl at a college party on Halloween, dressed like a slutty anime character and trying to look adult, for just one night, Sydney would not be thinking about being an EO or about Victor Vale.  
Sydney could feel the buzz of the alcohol kicking in, it made her feel a bit tingly and warm. After spending almost a third of her life in a perpetual state of cold, she appreciated that gentle warmth. The boy was looking at her again. She smiled, meeting his eyes. He smiled back. Holy fuck, he was cute! Wavy brown hair, warm brown eyes, and when he smiled it revealed a dimple on his left cheek. He had a bit of acne, but nobody’s perfect. He looked about her age, too. Of course, Sydney didn’t look her own age, she was 17 but still looked like a preteen.  
Sydney practically had to shout over the music “Hey, I’m Serena. I know I look like a fucking child, but for what it’s worth, I’m actually 17” Sydney always went by fake names since she, Mitch, and Victor had gone on the run. Usually a random name, but tonight she decided she would take her sister’s name. She hoped it might result in her getting some of her sister’s confidence.  
The boy laughed, she could barely hear it, but it was an unbelievably sexy laugh. “17 had been my guess, I’m really good at guessing ages. I’m Sean, by the way”  
“Nice to meet you Sean-by-the-way” Sydney cringed at herself, her sober self wasn’t the type to make corny jokes like that, apparently her slightly tipsy self was.  
Sean chuckled, probably a pity laugh but still good to hear. “Serena, you seem to have had a bit to drink. Would you like to find somewhere a bit more quiet?” Sydney’s heart lurched as she nodded and let Sean lead her up the stairs, to an empty bedroom.  
“You’re not wearing a costume,” Sydney noted, gesturing at Sean’s purple flannel shirt and leather jacket. Sean smiled again, he sure did smile a lot, as he took off the jacket. Suddenly Sydney didn’t like this, suddenly she realized she was drunk and vulnerable and alone with a boy she didn’t know who was almost a foot taller than her and probably a whole lot stronger.  
“I’m always wearing a costume, or at least a mask. I’m sure you understand. You’re always wearing a mask, aren’t you?”  
“I’m an open book,” Sydney lied. She was liking the situation less and less by the moment. For some reason, she suddenly felt like Sean could see right through her, could pull out all the secrets that could tear her world apart if they became known.  
“Then why did you lie to me about your name, Sydney?” The question caught her so off guard, she couldn’t respond. “Look, I’m not a stalker and I’m not a threat, not to you at least. I’m an EO, part of my… ability… lets me identify and get a general sense of the abilities of other EOs by looking at them, which is how I know you can help me. There’s someone I need brought back to life.”  
Sydney’s head was spinning, she tried pushing past Sean, who may or may not have really been named Sean, but he blocked her, leaning against the door so she couldn’t leave “I’m really not in the business of granting second chances, get out of my way”  
“You’re drunk, you should let me drive you home”  
“Get… out… of… my… way!” Sydney spoke slowly, trying to put force into every word. She was trying to summon Serena’s spirit, Serena had always been so good at getting people to do as they were told, even before getting powers.  
“I think I might be able to save Victor’s life” said Sean, still leaning against the door. “Would you still like me to get out of your way or would you like me to give you a ride home?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean gives Sydney a ride and they discuss his powers and the exchange.

“How do you know who I am?”  
“I first saw you 2 weeks ago” Sean started explaining.  
“I was living in Atlanta 2 weeks ago” That was a lie, a test to see if Sean was being honest.  
“What is this, a test? You were in Washington D.C. 2 weeks ago.”  
“Okay, you pass that test, they’ll be more”  
Sean rolled his eyes, but kept talking. “Like I said, I can tell who EOs are and get a general sense of their powers.”  
“How does that work exactly?” Sydney interrupted again.  
“I can see through people, sorta like x-ray vision. I can’t turn it off. When I look at someone, I see their normal selves, but I also see the deeper layers. EO brains look different, completely different neurochemical makeup, like a permanent state of fight or flight, and signs of traumatic injury. Brains also look different depending on what powers someone has. Vague differences, but they’re there. I knew your powers had something to do with the dead, my first guess was that you could communicate with the dead. It wasn’t until I researched you that I realized you actually bring them back altogether.”  
“How does this help Victor?”  
“His problem is physiological, my powers show my physiology. I’m not a healer, I won’t be able to fix his problem for him. But I might be able to at least tell him what it is and what he’ll need to do to fix it.”  
Sydney tried not to let on, but she was feeling excited. Like, over the moon level excited. It was the most hopeful she’d felt since learning about Victor’s problem. Ever since she learned what was happening with him, she’d felt guilty, a constant state of guilt. Victor assured her it wasn’t her fault, but it was. It was her powers that did this to him, knowing that now it was her powers that might be the bargaining chip they needed to fix Victor was a euphoric realization.  
“Like I said, I need a favor in return, someone I need brought back from the dead.”  
“Sure” said Sydney “Take me home, if you’re able to help Victor, I’ll bring back whoever you want. I’ll resuscitate a fucking army for you.”  
Sean laughed “I know how Victor works. I go back with you, I either can or can’t help him, either way he gets whatever use out of me he can then puts a bullet in my head.”   
“Pull over!” Sydney yelled. Sean did, Sydney threw open the door and got her head out of it just in time to keep any of the vomit from getting on Sean’s car. Between Sean’s terrible driving and the booze she had already been ready to throw up, those words set her over, they were like a punch to the stomach. Of course she knew who Victor was, what she did. But to hear a stranger, a stranger she was starting to like, describe Victor’s methods in such straight forward terms… she was reminded once again that she was becoming more like a villain every day.   
“Victor’s not a bad person, he…”  
“I’m not looking to make moral judgements, I’m not God. Whether or not he’s a bad person, though, he is dangerous, you can’t deny that. There’s a reason I approached you and not him.”   
Sydney nodded, she couldn’t deny Victor was dangerous. She couldn’t deny that his abilities--hurting and controlling people--it wasn’t just because of how he died, in some ways it was a reflection of him. God playing with mirrors and all that.  
“I don’t know how alcohol affects my powers” She said.  
“Don’t worry, we’ll give you time to sober up. I’m renting an apartment near here, you can stay the night with me if you want. Or, if you’d prefer, I’ll take you home and we can meet up tomorrow. But you need to give me your word you won’t tell Victor or Mitch about me until after you’ve brought back who I need you to.” Sean was speaking softly.   
Sydney had known Sean for not even a full hour, but already she’d felt in love with him, in danger from him, and now he felt like an old friend. He felt safe. Maybe this was stupid. She was drunk and vulnerable and he was a stranger. But she couldn’t bear the thought of going home to Victor and Mitch and keeping this secret, she also felt like Sean shouldn’t be alone tonight.   
“Your place it is”


End file.
